Ash removal apparatus



0. K. BIRCH ASH REMOVAL APPARATUS Feb. 5, 1957 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 8, 1950 FIG. I

FIG.- 2

Feb. 5, 1957 c BIRCH ASH REMOVAL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March8, 1950 FIG. 3

INVENTOR V (Jar/(J 1 Kiwi M ASH REMOVAL APPARATUS Charles K. Birch,Montclair, N. J., assignor to "Lehigh Valley Coal Sales Company, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 8, 1950, SerialNo. 148,419

2 Claims. (Cl. 110165) This invention relates to the provision ofimproved ash removal apparatus for transferring ashes from a coalfiredfurnace to an ash receptacle located at a distance from the furnace.More particularly, the invention is concerned with a suction system foreffecting a transfer of the ashes from a hopper beneath the furnace tothe ash receptacle. While it has been primarily developed for use with aspill over type stoker furnace, it may also be used with a grate type.furnace, if the coal used is of pea or buck wheat size. If larger sizesof coal are used, crushing grates must be incorporated in the furnace toinitially crush the ashes prior to their being fed to my ash removalsystem. Spill over type stoker furnaces are well known, comprising acone retort into the bottom -of which coal is fed and in which the coalburns as it is forced up. If more coal is fed into the bottom of theretort, ashes are spilled over the top .of the retort into the hopperbeneath the furnace.

In my copending application Serial No. 82,341,,filed March 19, 1949, andnow Patent No. 2,685,480, I pointed outthat suction systems for ashremoval have been proposed heretofore but have notbeen generallyaccepted for use in connection with small furnaces, such as householdheating furnaces. A careful study of the capacity and limitations ofsuction systems has led me to the conclusion that such systems are inprincpile sound for eliminating the hard and dirty job lOf removingashes .by hand from acoal-fired furnace; but for the system to .en'tsuccess of the suction systems for ash removal heretovforepnoposed.

The apparatus contemplated by this invention is in' many respectssimilar to that contemplated by the invention of my copendingapplication. The apparatus of that invention included anash hoppermountedbeneath the coal-fired furnace, a suction pipe leading therefromto an ash separator located at a distancefr'om the furnace and in whichthe ashes ultimately are collected, a

suction fan arranged so that its inlet is connected with the ashseparator, its outlet being connected to a discharge vent orflue, a dustfilter, or possibly directlyto theatmosphere, and an electric motor fordriving the fan. These elements :of the apparatus of mycopendingapplication are included in the apparatus of the present invention. Inthe apparatusof the copending application, a suction box is connecteddirectly to the bottom of the hopper, ,and the hopper serves merely todirecttheashes into it. However, I now contemplate having the suctionbox located adjacent, but outside the hopper, it being connected to thehopper by a conduit which extends into and throughout the length of thehopper. A combination screw conveyor and ash. crusher is mounted ,withinthe conduit, ,an

2,780,183 l atenlted Feb. 5, 1957 'ice 2 electricrnotor and gearreducing means being provided to drive. it. Portions of the conduitwithin the hopper are removed in order to permit ashes received by thehopper to flow into the conduit to be crushed and carried .outof thehopper-through the conduit by the combination :screwconveyor and ashcrusher. The conduit passes over the suction box outside the hopper buthas a portion of its lower side removed above the suction box so thatashes withdrawn by the combination screw conveyor and crusher may be fedthereby to the suction box for removal by the current of airflowingthrough the suction box and suction pipe when thesuction fan isoperated. The opening in the lower part of the conduit over the suctionbox extends a short distance beyond the suction box, thereby placing theinterior of the conduit in .com-

' munication with the outer atmosphere, other than through the hopper,so that the suction box and suction pipe are provided with suflicientair when the suction fan is operated-to-form a current thereof capableof carrying ashes, that have been fed to the suction box, to the ashseparator. Ashes carried to the separator are there separated fromtheair stream and settle into an ash receptacle.

My invention also contemplates the provision of a receptacle support bywhich ash receptacles may be easily and properly positioned with respectto the ash separator to receive ashes therefrom. It will be apparentthat an ash receptacle must be placed in pressure tight relation tothe-separator if a current Of air is to be drawn through the suctionpipe by the fan, because, if this were not the case, air would merely bedrawn into the separator through its open bottom rather than through thesuction pipe. Thus the lower edge of the separator is provided with arubber gasket which is adapted to receive the upper .edge or rim cf theash receptacle. The receptacle support is designed to receive areceptacle and by simple'manipulation to raise it upwardly so that itsupper rim or edge tightly engages the gasket of the separator to form apressure tight seal therewith.

The foregoing and other features of the new apparatus are described inmore detail below with referenceto the accompanying drawings which showa preferred embodiment thereof and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of that portion of the apparatus which is to belocated near the coal-fired furnace;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same portion of the ap- :paratus;

is-designed particularly for use with a spill over type stoker furnace,but the type of coal-burner with which the apparatus is usedforms nopart of the invention, and it may, if desired, be used in combinationwith a grate-type furnace. A hopper 12 is suitably supported atthebottom of the furnace by the supporting framework for the furnace. Itswalls slope downwardly toward its outlet. A combination screw conveyorand ash crusher 13 (Fig. 2) is located at the bottom of the hopper andis adapted to crush and convey ashes in the hopper to a suction box 14to which a suction pipe 15 is connected. At the other end of the suctionpipe there is an ash separator 16 (Fig. 3) in which ashes removed fromthe hopper through the suction pipe are adapted to settle out orseparate from thecurrent of air, in which they are carried, and fallinto an ash receptacle 17 placed beneath the separator. A

suction fan 18 is mounted above the separator and is connected to it byan inlet conduit 19. An outlet 20 is provided to carry air from the fanto a discharge vent or flue 21 which expells it to the atmosphere or toa dust bag or a similar device which may be provided if desired forremoving any residual ash or dust particles in the air. An electricmotor 22 is supported above the fan to drive it.

Referring back to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the combinationscrew conveyor and ash crusher is supported in the bottom of the hopperin a conduit 23 which extends throughout the length or the hopper andoutwardly beyond the end wall of the hopper through an opening 24 inthat wall. of the conduit by the removal of portions thereof to permitthe admission of ashes, falling into the hopper from the furnace, to theinterior of the conduit. When ashes enter the conduit through theopenings and the screw conveyor Openings 25 are formed in the upper halfis in operation, the ashes will be moved along in the conduit by theconveyor, the larger clinkers or clumps of ashes at the same time beingcrushed between the con- 'veyor itself and the walls of the conduit.Some of the conveyance of such uncrushed clinkers or clumps until theyhave been properly crushed and will pass through these parts of theconduit. The stripper portions of the conduit also aid in the crushingof the ashes because some of the ashes being carried along on top of theconveyor will be caught between the conveyor and the edges of thestrippers and be thereby crushed.

A deflector plate 27, as best seen in Fig. 4, is supported by the endwall of the hopper, through which the ashes are to be carried by theconveyor, and slopes downwardly toward the conveyor, preferably at apitch of 45 or greater to the horizontal. The lower edge of thedeflector extends to within a very small distance, for instance 613,from the upper extremity of the conveyor. The purpose of the deflectoris to catch any ashes that have not been satisfactorily crushed by theconveyor and that may be carried along on top of the conveyor past thestripper portions of the conduit and to prevent their clogging theoutlet. The deflector serves to collect any of these ashes present andto feed them back to the conveyor when a sufficient quantity of themhasaccumulated in order to tumble back over the conveyor.

As may also be best seen in Fig. 4, an opening 28 is formed in thebottom of that portion of the conduit 23 which extends outwardly fromthe hopper over the suction box 14. The suction box has a pair ofupwardly extending sides 14' (Fig. 5) by which it may be secured to theconduit at a position to enclose a portion of the opening 28. Thus,ashes which have been crushed by the screw conveyor and carried out ofthe hopper thereby will fall downwardly into the suction box to becarried away by the current of air passing through it and the suctionpipe 15 when the suction fan 18 is in operation. The portion of opening28 which is not enclosed by the upwardly extending sides of the suctionbox is provided so that a sufliciently large quantity of air may beadmitted to the suction box to form a current therethrough capable ofsupporting and carrying the crushed ashes, without at the same timecausing any undesired draft of air, not under control of the furnacedraft regulators, to flow through the furnace.

Driving power for the combined screw conveyor and ash crusher isprovided, as may be seen in Figs. 13, by an electric motor 29. Figs. 1and 2 show one type of gear transmission which may be used forconnecting the motor to the screw conveyor, while Fig. 3 shows analternate type. The type shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a flywheeltype pulley 34) mounted on a shaft 31 and driven by a drive belt 32passing over a drive pulley 33 on the motor shaft. A worm 34 is carriedon the flywheel shaft 31 and engages and drives a worm gear 35. Asprocket the receptacle.

36 is mounted on the same shaft as is worm gear 35 and is therebydriven, in turn driving a sprocket 37, mounted on the end of the shaftof the screw conveyor, through a sprocket chain 38. An idler sprocket 39may be provided if desired to control the tension on the chain. Byproperly choosing the relative sizes of the pulleys, the worm, and wormgear used, the speed with which the screw conveyor is driven may beproperly controlled. The purpose for using a flywheel type pulley is todecrease the strain placed upon motor 29. Once the speed of the conveyorhas been brought up to normal driving speed, the inertia of the rotatingflywheel supplies energy to crush any large clinker that suddenlybecomes caught in the conveyor.

The type of gear transmission shown in Pig. 3 is of standard form andmay be used with or without a flywheel type pulley. It comprises astandard reduction gear transmission 40, the details of which are notshown. The input shaft 41 of the gear transmission carries a pulley 42'driven from the pulley 33 on the motor shaft by a drive belt 43. Theoutput shaft of the gear transmission carries is, either the one shownin Figs. 1 and Z or that shown: in Fig. 3, may be satisfactorily used inorder to drive the; combination screw conveyor and ash crusher.

After crushed ashes have been fed to the suction box 14, they are pickedup in the current of air passing therethrough, when the suction fan isin operation, and carried by the current through suction pipe 15 to theash separator 16 (Fig. 3). Here, as previously indicated and as is morefully described in my copending application, the ashes are permitted toseparate from the air stream and fall into an ash receptacle 17. The airis carried on through the inlet 19 of the fan and thence out of the fanthrough its outlet conduit 20 to the discharge vent or flue 21.

As may be seen in Figs. 3 and 6, a support is provided by which ashreceptacles may be properly positioned with respect to the separator toreceive ashes therefrom. The separator has an outwardly extendingperipheral flange 50 on its lower side in which there is carried arubber gasket (not shown) which is adapted to receive in pressure-tightrelation the upper edge or rim of a receptacle 17. Were not thispressure-tight seal between the separator and the air receptacleachieved, the functioning of the suction system would not besatisfactory because the degree of suction in the suction pipe 15 and inthe suction box 14 would not be great enough, for the suction fan wouldspend some of its power drawing air through the separator from theimperfect seal between the separator and the receptacle, rather thanfrom the suction pipe.

The ash receptacle supporting means, shown, comprises a base supportingmember 51 which is adapted to receive the bottom of an ash receptacleand to thereby support 7 The base supporting member is in turn supportedby lifting members 52 (Fig. 6) the lower ends of which are secured tothe base supporting member. The upper ends of the lifting members arepivotally supported by pins 53 mounted in the outer ends of pivotmembers 54, The other ends of the pivot members are pivotally secured toa framework 55 by which the suction fan, its

'driving motor, and the ash separator are supported. A

substantially U-shaped handle member 56 is also supported by pivot pins53 at points intermediate the ends of its arms. The lower, or outer,ends of the arms of the U-shaped handle member are pivotally secured tothe upper ends of locking members 57. The other ends of the lockingmembers are pivotally secured to the framework 55. It is the lockingmembers 57 which in the last analysis provide the supporting force foran ash receptacle 17.

As seen in'Fig. 3, an ash receptacle is supported by the supportingmeans with its upperrim pressed tightly against the rubber gasket (notshown) in the peripheral flange Again an idler 47 may be provided ifdesired. Either type of gear transmission shown, thatperipheral flangeof the separator.

50 of the separator. In order that it may be removed th upper end 58 ofthe U-shaped handle member 56 is drawn to the right to the positionshown in dotted lines. This movement of the handle pivots it about pin53 causing the lower ends of its arms to move to the left as seen inFig. 3, whereby the pivot pins are permitted to descend, therebypermitting lifting members 52 and the base supporting member 51 todescend. This disengages the upper edge of the ash receptacle from theseparator, and the receptacle may be lifted or slid out of the basesupporting member to be replaced by an empty one. When an emptyreceptacle has been placed in the base supporting member the handlemember of the supporting structure is moved from the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 3 to that shown in solid linesand the receptatcleis raised so that its upper edge will tightly engage the gasket in thelower In order that the receptacle will be held in this engagement withthe separator without the necessity of positively maintaining the handlein its solid line position, the members of the supporting structure areso designed that, in its solid line position, the upper end of lockingmember 57 is slightly to the right of its dead center position. Thedistance which an ash receptacle must be raised or lowered may be veryslight, actually just enough to permit easy mounting and removal of itin the support without interference from the peripheral flange of theseparator. The distance may thus be as little as one or two inches.

It is evident from the foregoing that the ash removal system of theinvention is of uncomplicated construction, is easy to install, andprovides a practical means for eliminating the most objectionablefeature incident to the operation of small coal-fired furnaces, namely,the removal by hand of the ashes. It has also been found in use to beeffective for removing ordinary coal ashes from a furnace to areceptacle remote from and at a substantially higher elevation than thefurnace itself; and it has proved to be reliable and dependable.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing ashes from a coal-fired furnace comprising anash hopper for receiving ashes from the furnace, a suction box havingtop and bottom openings, an ash removal suction pipe leading from thebottom opening of the suction box, a conduit extending throughout thelength of the bottom of the hopper and leading from the hopper to andacross the top opening of the suction box, a portion of the conduitadjacent the suction box opening into the suction box and a portion ofthe conduit beyond the suction box opening to the outer atmosphere, anda combination screw conveyor and ash crusher within the conduit, theupper part of said conduit within the hopper having openings formedtherein to permit admission of ashes from the hopper into the conduit,whereby ashes in the hopper are crushed and carried to the suction boxwhere such ashes and air from the outer atmosphere both may be drawninto the suction box and removed therefrom through the suction pipe.

2. Apparatus for removing ashes from a coal-fired furnace comprising anash hopper for receiving ashes from the furnace, a suction box, aconduit extending along the length of the bottom of the hopper andleading from the hopper to and opening into the upper portion of thesuction box, a combination screw conveyor and ash crusher within theconduit for conveying ashes from the hopper to the suction box, theupper portion of said conduit within the hopper having at least oneopening to permit admission of ashes from the hopper into the conduit,the suction box having an opening in the lower portion thereof, an ashremoval suction pipe leading from said opening, and means forming anopening of substantial size in an upper portion of the suction box tothe outer atmosphere independent of the opening for the admission ofashes thereto, so that when suction is applied to said suction pipe airwill be sucked into the suction system from a source other than the ashhopper and the suction in the suction pipe will not appreciably aifectthe draft of the furnace.

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